UNH looks to maintain momentum

DURHAM — The University of New Hampshire hockey team had just beaten Massachusetts to snap a four-game losing streak.

Defensemen scored three of the four goals — including two by Justin Agosta — for a club that was struggling offensively.

The Wildcats had managed only 12 goals in the previous six games before the 4-1 win over the Minutemen.

“We have some forwards who can score in bunches,” Agosta said afterward. “I’m not worried about it. I don’t think any of us are. It’s just a matter of time before they start rolling.”

It took less than 24 hours for Agosta’s words to come true. Forwards scored eight of the nine goals in a 9-0 rout of UMass the following night, and added four more in 4-2 victory over Brown on Tuesday.

Suddenly, the Wildcats have a three-game win streak. They hope to keep the momentum going this weekend with a home-and-home series against No. 18 Northeastern.

The teams meet tonight (7) at Matthews Arena in Boston and again Saturday night (7) at the Whittemore Center in Durham.

“They’re a tough team to play against in that small rink,” said junior defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk. “They’ve got a lot of skill up front. We’ve just got to just make sure, like we did last weekend, to keep it simple, play our game and hopefully get a good result.”

The Wildcats will look to get off to a good start tonight.

“It’s a little smaller barn,” said senior forward Jeff Silengo. “Everything’s going to happen a step quicker. We’ve got to come out hard and try to get two points on the road and then come back home Saturday. Friday is going to be very important for the weekend.”

UNH is 4-5-1 overall and 2-2-0 in Hockey East while the Huskies are 6-3-0 and 1-2-0.

With the reduced league schedule, this weekend is the only time the teams will see each other unless they meet in the playoffs.

Each club is playing 20 Hockey East games this season, down from the customary 27.

“We always have good games when we play them,” Silengo said. “They’re real strong on the puck. They tend to get a lot of bodies in front of the net like we do. We’re going to have to match that as well as try and use our speed to beat them.”

The Wildcats will play three of their next four games on the road, including a two-game series at Providence next weekend.

The 9-0 victory over UMass was UNH’s first road win of the season where the Wildcats are 1-3-0 overall.

After a 5-0-0 start, Northeastern snapped a three-game losing streak last weekend with a 4-2 win over UMass-Lowell. The River Hawks swept a two-game series against UNH on Nov. 1-2.

The Wildcats’ last three wins came in a span of five days.

“That’s huge for our momentum and our attitude in the locker room,” Silengo said. “We’re bringing in positive energy every day in practice and it’s showing in the past couple games.”

UNH relied on its depth up front the past two games. All four lines scored in the 9-0 win at UMass and three of the four connected against Brown.

The Wildcats have also displayed more of a net-front presence. Silengo and Nick Sorkin scored on rebounds against Brown.

“That’s definitely something the coaches have been stressing,” van Riemsdyk said. “Keep it simple, get pucks to the net (and) get bodies to the net. That’s where most of the goals are scored. We’ve been focusing on stopping in front of the net and digging for pucks.”

Freshman Tyler Kelleher did just that in the first minute at UMass to ignite the nine-goal explosion.

“That’s what we’ve been trying to create — dirty goals,” said coach Dick Umile. “You’ve got to get in there and get pushed around and get rebounds. Those are starting to go in. The goaltenders in this league are so darn good it’s hard to beat them on the initial shot.”

Sorkin, Kevin Goumas and Grayson Downing are tied for the team lead with five goals apiece. Van Riemsdyk has a team-high seven assists.

The Huskies have some firepower as well. Kevin Roy is averaging almost a goal a game and Mike Szmatula has team highs in assists (11) and points (15).

The Wildcats have allowed only three goals in the last three games.

“I’ve got to give a lot of credit to our defensive corps,” Umile said. “They’ve played well. Good backchecking by our forwards has given us sound defense in our own end. We’ve controlled the odd-man rushes and transitioned off it with some pretty good offense. Now the puck seems to be going in. Hopefully, that will continue.”